Sexual intimacy: heterosexual vs queer

Within sexual intimacy, heterosexual couples are much more likely to be constrained to a
social script when it comes to sexual intimacy than queer couples due to the
heteronormative social norms that are in place in society for sexual intimacy where men
are seen as dominant whereas women are seen as submissive. This is much less likely to
happen to queer couples as there isn’t a heteronormative social script that they have to
follow. However, queer people are put into heteronormative roles by society so it can be
hard for queer people to express their sexual intimacy. However this is less often

The disruption of heteronormative relationship norms has resulted in an increase in sexual

intimacy in women. This may be due to a shift in social tolerance around women having
sex because women were previously seen as submissive who did not have sexual intimacy
with anyone other than their husband and the women’s liberation movement in the 1960s
and 70s have resulted in a shift in the view around sexual intimacy of women to be from a
negative view to a positive view

However the trans experience of sexual intimacy is rather small scale but there is evidence
to suggest that sexual intimacy and romantic attachments reactively and ordinarily shift
over the course of transition. That may be due to trans people being more likely to suffer
from body dysmorphia as they’re not as comfortable with their gender orientation as
cisgendered people are. This can lead to a lack of sexual intimacy in trans people.
However as they slowly complete their transition, they’re more likely to feel more confident
in their body and are more likely to be sexual intimate with their partner.

This can lead to the position that “good sex is the foundation to a healthy relationship and
that can put pressure on couple to keep up a sex life in order to be seen as complete and
this can disproportionately affect people who are on the aroace spectrum as they might
not feel comfortable with sexual intimacy. This is why the intersection of gender sexuality
and age are crucial in order to understand sexual intimacy.